NBA: Cavaliers Finding Ways To Keep Tristan Thompson Beyond This Season

The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to stay on track as far as investing in youth. With the NBA trade deadline fast approaching, there is a growing belief that some of the aging veterans will be dealt away. However, it appears that this will not include Tristan Thompson.

It appears the Cavs have grown fond of Thompson and want him to be a key piece moving forward. But the problem is that the camp of the 28-year-old Canadian is not ready to discuss an extension. Regardless, Cleveland can always re-sign him by the end of this NBA season, Cleveland.com reported. But to eliminate complications, the Cavaliers want to lock up the former NBA champion as early as now.

This NBA season, Thompson has been performing well. In 26 games, he has been averaging 13.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. However, critics question his ability to sustain this level of performance. Most feel that the jacked-up numbers are because he is in the final year of his deal.

There are still plenty of things up ahead for the 4th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. He is due to make $18.5 million this season and will unsurprisingly be courted by several teams. This is what the Cavs are trying to avoid. Unfortunately, this may not be under their control.

Aside from his NBA future, Thompson has also been thrown questions on whether he would be available to play for Team Canada in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria this June, Sportsnet.ca reported. He was non-committal about his status and pundits feel that part of this is his current NBA contract.

“I’m not thinking about that right now,” said Thompson during a media scrum.

As one can see, Thompson knows he has a lot of things going on in his mind. He could remain in Cleveland or move to a new team next NBA season. Either way, the 6-foot-9 player is not expected to run out of suitors after the current season.